I got an early birthday present a few weeks ago when I was asked to come give my HOW TO GET YOUR MUSIC LICENSED workshop at the Belfast Music Week. This event looks action packed. Over 100 local bands a nite for a week, and workshops and keynotes all day. I was honored to be invited and thrilled to speak.

Lots of great international press on the event as well. HERE

I am most looking forward to meeting the Artists and Managers of Northern Ireland;m to hear their questions and understand what they need to learn about music licensing.

What an event these folks are putting on! Take a look!

Anybody has some great tips on Belfast – lets hear them! I can hardly wait. If you are attending the event and reading this, please reach out an let me know what questions you would like to ask in advance !

In this talk, Johanna Blakley explores the results of an industry that embraces creative commons.

This is serious food for thought in relation to the music copyright industry.

This track is unmistakable if you have ever been a fan of folk or bluegrass from the 60′s and 70′s. It’s timeless.

Here is what my commenter had to say:

Today David Byrne posted on his blog that he is filing suit against Florida Governor Charlie Crist for the illegal use of “Road to Nowhere.”  Crist reportedly began using the song in January, during the Republican primary contestant Marco Rubio. (Crist has since dropped out of the Republican race, and will run as an independent candidate.)” The Guardian reports.

The news seems to be spreading across the internet like another bad Republican joke.

David Byrne’s BLOG POST is very concise and to the point about the matter. I applaud him for his candor and for speaking directly to the public about it.

Lets talk about the meat and bones of this issue. ITS ILLEGAL to use a piece of music without permission, but the issue that strikes the heart of the matter is this……If we cannot trust our political leaders to know the law, and cope to any wrongdoings…..then #$%?

My official political statement on the issue: This goes to show you how insanely out of touch our leaders and future leaders are. So sad. Every employee in the media industry, from a Sr. VP all the way down to a Production Manager knows you have to license a piece of music to use it in a a VIDEO ONLINE or in a TV COMMERCIAL, so how is it that an entire staff of well paid campaign employees and strategists don’t know? Impossible.

My official music licensing statement: David Byrne has a really good point in his article about the fact that, “I still believe songs occasionally mean something to people — they obviously mean something personal to the writer, and often to the listener as well. A personal and social meaning is diluted when that same song is used to sell a product (or a politician).”

Just this week I am being asked to clear a major Billboard hit for a global beauty brand. The artist might well say no to 7 figures based on principle, on the meaning of his song. I support that 100%. It is a personal choice.

The statement given by the Campaign is nothing short of HILARIOUS, as per David Byrne’s BLOG POST. He claims they have used two arguments to defend their wrongdoings:

Fair Use and Free Speech

FAIR USE is defined as limited use of copyrighted material for news reporting, teaching, or research. For the record….Political messages paid for by donations are NOT FAIR USE.

FREE SPEECH, I refuse to define, because anyone who reads this should know the definition. For the record, free speech is not even in the neighborhood with musical copyright.  You can “say” the name of a song, but you cannot PLAY it in your video and call it free speech.

So, to those of your out there that make your living by running political campaigns, you are going to have to play by the rules if you want to use music.

My favorite part about this little debacle, is not even that the warning siren has not already gone off on this issue several times (the most recent being Jackson Brown’s suit against John McCain for misuse of “Running on Empty)……. but  that fact that the generous donors of the Charlie Crist campaign will be helping to fund the settlement if Bryne is to win his $1MM case.

Lastly, and as a final pot shot to old school political methodology in this country, STOP USING GREAT SONGS TO GET YOUR SLOGANS ACROSS.

You might actually have to come up with some original material. Something inspiring….on your own….NOT the words of someone else like David Byrne or Jackson Brown.

Ok…one more point. Artists deserve to be paid. Old or young, rich or poor.

GREAT QUESTION.

After 10 years of conference calls, I can tell you, the answers to this question have not changed too much; maybe a little trend swerve, but all in all, the same. I will list them by rank of frequency.

Disclaimer: keep in mind the good majority of people I find and place music for are not music experts, and have a difficult time describing what they are looking for, which is where a Music Supervisor comes in real handy, but that being said, there are man many people in the Ad world who are music carnivores.

#10 – Find us something cool.

#9 – What are you looking for, can you give me a little bit more to go on? (me) ….We will know it when we hear it (them).

#8 – I need a track that builds (them).

#7 – I can’t tell you why we like this song, it just works, can you find another song just like it (them)?

#6 – We would like a track that feels organic, but has alot of energy (them).

#5 -We want a track just like this, but we are open to something else (them).

#4 – I like it, but it just doesn’t go anywhere (them).

#3 – Can I get this track in an instrumental (them)?

#2 – Can we get this track for the budget? Can you just get a ballpark quote from them and see (them)?

#1 – Has anyone else ever used that track? Who (them)?

I look forward to everyone’s comments on this one!!!!!!

Info can be found here:  http://my.sxsw.com/e/518

If any of you are coing to SXSW – give me a shout out on the GYML Facebook Page and let me know if you have any special questions you want me to cover.

See you in Austin!

I created series in response to the unbelievable outpouring of questions and inquiry’s I have received from Artists, Bands and Managers all over the country looking for information on how to get their music to the right people and how to make the right impression.

The GYML FACEBOOK PAGE  http://www.facebook.com/GetYourMusicLicensed is up and running and for now is ground zero for GYML.

The FB page is the place for you to post your questions to me, chat with fellow musicians and get my latest free tips and advice. Join the conversation!

I could not agree with him more. Checkout the quick article HERE.

It’s great to hear an Artist as well respected as Pharrell talking about the inherent value that Advertisers can bring a budding artist. For The Neptunes, Ad Agencies might as well be Clear Channel radio. They have helped him break records world wide and sell millions of records, for his own music and the music he has produced for others (remember the Producer gets paid mechanical royalties before anyone else gets paid).

Pharrell is giving good advice to up and coming artists – “Chase Ad  Agencies and Brands, ” but remember he has had a team of people there to help him, all he has has to do is make much and show up. But he shows up well.

I remember working on a Cadillac pitch about 8 years ago for Escalade, where the Agency creatives and myself had created a project starring Pharell for the brand. Cadillac was showcasing the new car at at gallery on Rodeo drive and he showed up with his entourage. He was very approachable, very easy to talk to, and VERY willing to work with the brand. The project was a fantastic match for him, but alas it never saw the light of day. His willingness to listen to brands needs, and not just his own is most certainly one of the reasons he has done so well in this space and some may argue as an artist altogether.

A few points I want to make to artists in regards to this fantastic article.

1.) Build your community – I cannot stress it enough – the Agencies and Brands know who he is and go to him, but once he (and his team) learned the power of the brand to broadcast a new single, he came to them.

2.) No matter who you are, your track just may not be right for the Ad and Branding world. Pharrell sent out the first single to his IN MIND record, and it never clicked for him in a major spot. It just wasn’t right. So if Licensing is a major part of your plan. PLAN AHEAD and write songs that make sense for brands.

3.) Build your rolodex. You need to have the contacts to be able to push your music through the channels to even give it a chance. Reps do it, so can you, if you are not ready for a rep or don’t want one. It comes down to time and perseverance. I can tell you this after over 15 years of being an Agent – The client LOVES to hear from an artist directly. Just make sure you know how to represent yourself, both upfront and in the throws of a deal.

The tip of the iceberg, nonetheless. Stay tuned for more……

It was just reported yesterday is this Stereogum post that Sony US, via record Label Epic approved the MASTER rights to use the Franz Ferdinand song “Bite Hard” for a McDonald’s advertisement (it was unclear in the article if this was a TV and internet or soley an internet license). Alex Kapranos (@alkapranos), an accomplished foodie himself, was more than bitter about the match as you can see on his Twitter page.

I could not agree more with Alex, or with the writer of the Stereogum blog. I would be upset to see my music placed somewhere that I did not think represented my music, and yes it is a great way to fall out with your record label.

So let’s stop here and take count of the real issue at hand. The band’s rights. In a standard record contract or music publishing contract, a band signs away their rights to say yes or no to any potential license when they sign a contract. The Label owns the masters. The Music Publisher owns the music. Now, as a Music Supervisor I speak to many labels and music publishers that need to check with the artist before approving a synchronization license, and I have had many licenses refused by the band for artistic reasons.

The message here is, if you choose to sign with a label (and may I say there are still MANY great record labels out there) make sure that you maintain the right to refuse any synchronization use that you do not feel is in line with your band or your image.

Licensing your music is not selling out, but licensing it to the wrong company, for the wrong message, could damage you in the long run.

A good label will care about such matters and want to help you protect your image. But it is up to you  make sure that you have that right. Don’t give it up, or you could very well end up on Twitter having to air your anger and irritation, because you have no legal rights to the claim whatsoever.

When you become an artist the size of Franz Ferdinand and you can actually sell a good amount of records, you can make a stink and they will likely listen to your wishes, just make damn sure you don’t put yourself in that position. NO Record contract is worth giving up your rights as an artist to say no.

My second semester of the HOW TO GET YOUR MUSIC LICENSED IN A COMMERCIAL class begins this Tuesday. There is still time to register. Our guest speakers have been announced, and so far they are fantastic.

Landis Smither – Director, former Creative Director at Old Navy, and Ogilvy Mather

David Taylor, Music Producer at Media Arts Labs (Agency for Apple)

Dan Wilcox, KCRW DJ and Music Supervisor

Marisa Wasser, Senior Producer at Deutsch Advertising

We will cover alot of new ground this semester, so don’t miss it! The syllabus is posted on the Facebook Fan Page. Feel free to email me if you have specific questions about the class.

Hope to see you all there!

Best,
Sarah